Charge to My Line

by Lani Lynn Vale

  His eyes turned to Grayson, and held as he spoke directly to him. “You don’t know it yet, but you changed the course of our lives that night,” he shook his head. “We have another son who has leukemia. Although we had Zachary so we could use his cord blood to help our other son, Matthew, we couldn’t imagine our lives without him. However, the blood Matthew received from Zachary wasn’t enough, and we’d planned on him donating more stem cells just this past week. That wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for you. You saved more than Zachary’s life that night, you saved Matthew’s, too.”

  Grayson hung his head, and I saw him let out a shaky breath before he lifted his head back up and nodded once at the man still staring at him.

  “For that, I owe you more than just a thank you. I owe you my life. Those two boys are my world, as is their mother, and I wouldn’t know what to do without them. For that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart, deep into the depths of my soul.”

  Grayson stood and made his way to the man, offering his hand.

  They shook for a long time, the both of them talking quietly for a minute or two, before the woman with the young child walked up to the two, curling into her husband’s side.

  From this distance, I couldn’t quite hear what was being said, but I knew it was heartfelt. Both parents were wiping tears away from their eyes when the young boy Grayson saved latched onto Grayson’s fingers, pulling Grayson’s large hand up to his small face, and then leaned his head against him.

  Grayson stared down at the young boy, smiling softly at him, and my heart officially melted at the cuteness.

  A flash lit up the room, and I knew that Grayson and the baby would most likely be the stars of tomorrow’s paper.

  I wonder if they’d give me a copy of the file, I thought to myself.

  Alas, if the look that Grayson directed at the photographer was anything to go by, he’d probably not appreciate me encouraging him.

  Oh well, this would be forever embedded in my heart.

  And I knew that one day, Grayson would make one hell of a father.

  Chapter 19

  Eat like no one is watching…or was that dance?

  -One of life’s unanswerable questions

  Torren

  I watched as Tru waved goodbye to her parents, gave her mom a kiss, and then started through the parking lot toward me.

  She was fucking breathtaking.

  Dressed in a black dress that had these tempting goddamned holes all over them…then there was that slit that went nearly all the way up to her pussy.

  “Ride with me?” I whispered to Tru as she walked up to me.

  She looked up and gave me a look that caused me to laugh.

  “I’m guessing you don’t really need me to voice my answer, correct?” She queried with a raised brow.

  I’d already seen her tell her parents that she was going with me

  I shook my head. “No, I guess you don’t. Your place or mine?”

  “Yours,” she whispered, drawing her dress up high, so high I could see her black satin panties, and then mounted the bike.

  I swallowed thickly at the display, practically burning a hole through her dress with my eyes. “You’re killing me.”

  She winked and patted the seat in front of her.

  I went, swinging my leg over the bike and started it up.

  The night was a warm one, and my itchy dress uniform was nearly suffocating.

  However, when Tru wrapped her arms around my chest, snuggling her warm crotch up against my ass, I completely forgot about the annoyance.

  I’d nearly made it all the way home when I realized I was nearly out of gas.

  “Shit,” I said, pulling into the next gas station.

  “What?” She asked when I pulled up to the pump.

  “Out of gas,” I said once I turned the bike off.

  Flipping the stand down, I swung my leg over, catching a glimpse of Tru’s panties.

  “Ice cream,” I managed to get out, withdrawing my wallet and handing her a twenty.

  She took it, aware of my game, and slid her leg over the bike.

  I busied myself with the pump, sliding my card in and twisting off the gas cap, all too aware of her eyes on me.

  I watched her walk away, her black high heels clicking against the concrete as she went.

  Then I watched her walk inside, and the attendant give her a double take.

  “I feel your pain, man,” I mumbled, before I shoved the nozzle into the hole and started filling up my bike.

  I made a rookie mistake right then, watching Tru instead of my surroundings.

  I should’ve known better. Should’ve known that he was going to do something.

  I didn’t even realize he was there until Tru came back outside with two pints of ice cream, one in each hand.

  She was looking down at the ground, not watching what was in front of her, but instead of her feet in those heels that I wanted to fuck her in later.

  Hell, I hadn’t even known anyone was standing directly behind me before I felt the gas from the nozzle pour down my leg.

  Thinking the mechanism that turned the pump off once the tank was full was faulty, I turned to see Colby standing there, dousing me and the bike with the nozzle that was still pumping gas at an alarming rate.

  “You know,” he said blandly. “I warned you what would happen. I fucking warned you. Now she’s going to die, all because you couldn’t listen and follow directions. I hope you burn in hell.”

  The funny thing was, was that the one goddamned time I didn’t have fire retardant clothing, I was in the process of being set on fire. In my God forsaken, itchy-as-fuck, fire department issued, dress uniform.

  Finally letting the nozzle go, he dropped it to the ground and it swung in an arc back towards the pump.

  It kept spewing gas until it hit the concrete pole next to the pump, jarring loose the mechanism that kept it pumping.

  Then, in what felt like slow motion, he removed a bronze lighter from his pocket, flipped it open, and was promptly slammed to the ground by a raging bull of a man who was protecting his son.

  The lighter snapped closed with the force of the hit, echoing loudly in my ears.

  Colby landed on the ground with an exhale of breath, and the sound of bodies colliding filled the night air.

  My racing heart started to slow, and excitement for what was about to happen started to course through me.

  Rearing back, my father slammed his fist into the stunned Colby’s face, hitting him over and over again before Colby could catch his equilibrium.

  I winced inwardly, remembering being on the receiving end of that punch once when I was a dumbass kid that’d been picked up by the cops for trying to boost a car.

  Luckily, the cop had taken me to my father instead; or, at least, I thought I’d been lucky, at the time.

  He showed me how not lucky I was as soon as the cop pulled out of the driveway when he promptly punched the shit out of me.

  At nineteen, I’d never been in a fight with someone of my father’s caliber.

  My father was four inches over six foot, three hundred and fifty pounds, and had a fist like a sledge hammer.

  “You okay?” Tru asked softly, looking me over, but not touching.

  “Yeah, but I want you to go stand by the front door. Stay away from here until we can have the gas cleaned up. In fact, there’s an emergency pump shutoff next to the front door. Why don’t you go ahead and press it. If the clerk doesn’t have the cops on their way, he needs to make it happen,” I instructed her.

  With one last longing look at me, she followed my command and hurried to the building.

  Shutting off the pumps, she dashed inside and spoke with the clerk, finally allowing me to turn around and watch as my father finished…whatever he was doing to Colby.

  I wasn’t quite sure if he was pissed off and beating him, or if he was doing it on purpose.

  Whatever the reason, I had a feeling Colby wouldn’t be getting
up any time soon.

  “Damn, Booney. You could’ve saved some for the rest of us,” Silas muttered under his breath as he looked at Colby whining on the ground.

  My eyes moved from my father to Silas, and I grinned.

  “He was never one to play by the rules,” I informed him.

  “Fuck if that isn’t right,” Silas muttered, turning his back on us and walking to cop car that pulled into the lot a moment later.

  “You okay, boy?” My father asked, giving Colby one last good kick before standing.

  I nodded. “Sure thing.”

  “You know,” my dad said conversationally. “You could’ve acknowledged the fact that he was going to go for it, and moved, before he actually saturated you in gas. That’s gonna be a bitch to dry clean.”

  ***

  Tru

  “He’s your brother?” I shrieked in surprise.

  Grayson’s father winced, covering his ear with his palm when my scream of outrage got a little out of control.

  But seriously…his brother?

  Grayson nodded to his father who was leaning against a wall across the clubhouse. “My dad’s with another woman, yes.”

  I looked at his father and shook my head. “I really don’t understand. How do you not know you have a kid? And does that make Bobby your brother, too?”

  Booney was nice and all, but the man had the self-control of a rabbit when it came to keeping it in his pants. Who doesn’t know about their own kid?

  He shook his head. “I don’t pretend to know what was going through my father’s brain. The woman was just a one-night stand, supposedly, and never let him know about the kid. Later on, Colby’s mother married, and it was to a ‘respectable’ banker. It was in her best interest not to tell him then. The banker was abusive to Colby, though. Colby resented him until the day he died. Then the step-father admitted that Colby wasn’t even his son, and wouldn’t inherit a dime.”

  “Holy shit,” I said in surprise. “What then?”

  “Colby was already a cop at that point. He figured out who his real father was, but didn’t pursue any relationship. Probably would’ve never bothered, but then he saw me with you. When he started digging into my past, he realized quickly who my father was. He got his panties in a twist that I’d had a ‘good life’ while he had a shitty one, and didn’t want me to get you, too. Tried to get me fired. My connections wouldn’t allow it, though. Which I didn’t realize until your father shared with me the day before I broke it off with you. When he realized he couldn’t get to me, he started threatening you.”

  “That’s…that’s… that’s fucking nuts!” I yelled, waving my hands in front of me wildly.

  He nodded, looking down at his skin, which had broken out slightly from the gasoline, and then back up at me. “He’s a sick fuck, is what he is. Good riddance him being in jail. I just wish I had the ability to suggest the death sentence.”

  “He didn’t actually kill anyone, so unfortunately, he’ll only be getting twenty years at most. His brother, Bobby, not you, will probably be able to find him a good lawyer. I bet it’s ten years tops,” my mother said honestly.

  I deflated, shoulders sagging in disbelief. “Then what was the point of going to all that trouble? What a load of shit.”

  My mother put her arm around my shoulders, bringing me in close before giving me a kiss on my forehead. “It’s okay, baby. We’ll worry about it when the time comes.”

  I nodded, knowing there was nothing else we could do.

  When I looked up, my eyes caught on Grayson’s father who was in the process of speaking to Ross for the first time.

  Ross had his hands shoved down deep into his pockets, his head slightly hung as he nodded to something Booney said.

  “Frank, would it be all right if I spoke with you for a moment?” Grayson asked.

  I moved my attention back to the man who was looking at my father with a face that was a little green.

  Was he sick?

  Before I could ask, my father got up, and the two of them were walking outside, speaking softly.

  “What was that about?” I asked warily.

  “Ten bucks says he’s asking your father for permission to marry you,” my mom said lightly.

  I practically gave myself whiplash when I turned to look at my mother. “You’re shitting me.”

  She shook her head. “No. That’s my guess, anyway. He’s been fondling something in his pocket all night. Was even doing it the night of my cancer-free party. The way he looks at you, baby, is refreshing. There’s not one single thing more that I’d ask for when it came to the man that marries you. Y’all are perfect for each other.”

  “So…” I said looking at the door. “Do you think I can get out there and listen without them seeing me?”

  She laughed. “Not on your life.”

  ***

  Newspaper article for Benton Times

  An officer of the law, Colby Prescott, a six year veteran with the Benton Police Department, was charged with attempted murder Friday evening.

  He was arrested after attempting to set a fireman, Grayson Trammel, on fire.

  Trammel was just awarded a medal of valor for saving a young infant from a burning building. He was awarded the medal last night, and had traveled to a convenience store near his home in Edgewood with his long term girlfriend, Tru Doherty. While Doherty was inside, Prescott chose that moment to attack Trammel.

  Trammel’s father was able to intervene before Prescott could actually get the fire started.

  Prescott’s bail is set at $400,000.

  Chapter 20

  Can’t get out of bed. Send help. Or waffles. Maybe just waffles.

  -Text from Tru to Grayson

  Tru

  Two months later

  Life had been perfect. Absolutely perfect. I was living the absolute dream.

  He’d found someone to take over my lease, so I was free and clear to move in with him within a week of us getting back together.

  I’d go to bed beside Grayson on the days that he was off, and wake up beside him in the morning, most of the time with him making love to me soft and slow.

  The days that he had to work, I’d go to bed lonely, but I’d wake up to him as he’d slip his rock hard body into bed beside me, letting my sleepy warm skin heat his cool one. I’d wrap my arms around him tightly, leaning my head against his ear to warm that up, too. It was a tradition, one that I loved.

  However, today he’d been fully dressed when he woke me up, forgoing the usual cuddling that I loved so much. Instead, he sat on the side of the bed, his head in his hands.

  “What is it?” I asked quietly.

  My voice was still sleep roughened, and he seemed to wilt even more, alarming me.

  “I heard some news this morning from the DA as I was leaving work,” he hesitated. “They’re not going to go with a trial for Colby. All that work I put into it, and they’re doing fucking nothing. They fear that his mental status is degrading, so they’ve chosen to send him to a psychiatric facility instead of pursuing prison time. Prison might still be an option after, but they don’t think he’s of sound mind enough to ever be out of that place.”

  I was speechless. They were what?

  “They’re only putting him in a mental facility after all that he did to you…to me?” I gasped in outrage.

  The asshole had tried to burn us alive!

  He’d doused us in gasoline! Then lit a goddamned match. In front of no less than ten people! I mean what more did they need? He should be rotting in a jail cell, not sitting in a cushy mental facility.

  “Will they even be able to hold him in there if he wants to leave?” I asked in surprise.

  He shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  Sitting up, I wrapped my arms around his back, laying my head against his shoulder.

  “When does he go?” I asked quietly, rubbing my check and nose along the soft t-shirt he was wearing.

  “He’s already there. Cabe wasn’t even going
to tell me, worried I’d do something stupid. It was your mother who did; she thought I’d want to know,” he explained dejectedly.

  I guess maybe he thought that he’d failed, but he didn’t. He protected me. We were happy. We were healthy. There was nothing else I wanted.

  Closing my eyes, I ran my hands down his back until I could feel the gap between his pants and his shirt.

  Using my fingernails, I ran them up and down his back, scratching like I knew he liked. “Let’s go for that ride you told me about last night. There’s nothing better than family and friends when you’re stressed.”

  He nodded and stood, dislodging my hands.

  I made quick work of getting dressed.

  Dressing in simple jeans, black long sleeved t-shirt that said, ‘This bitch won’t fall off!’ and my pink cowboy boots.

  Grayson never said a word about my flashy, sparky, hot pink boots. He only smiled softly at me when he saw them, which was what I’d intended today with the t-shirt. I lived to see that man smile.

  After I managed to get dressed, I walked outside to find Grayson already on the back of his bike, staring out at the neighborhood beyond.

  He turned when I started down the stairs. “Ready?”

  At my nod, he lifted his leg and kick started his newest project bike.

  It wasn’t flashy, or anything really grand, but I’d been working with him on it, and that made it special to me. At first, it was only handing him tools and the likes, but I’d graduated to helping him do miscellaneous odds and ends.

  He’d taught me how to tear down a transmission, which if I had to admit, I was the bomb at. In fact, it was actually kind of fun getting dirty with him.

  It made me happy to see that I helped him when and where I could.

  Lifting my leg, I slid onto the bike behind him and took the helmet he had waiting in his hand for me.

  It wasn’t until I’d strapped it on tightly that I realized there was something hanging off the top of the helmet.

  Reaching up, my hand closed around fishing line, and I pulled.

  It gave easily, and I looked down to see a shimmering diamond engagement ring.